1908: An illustrated plate from the novel 'The War in the Air', by H G Wells, published in 1908, foresaw the importance of air forces in combat. This futuristic view shows a vehicle travelling on a monorail cable suspended between 'iron Eiffel Tower pillars', with ships sailing on the sea below and an airship flying in the sky above. English novelist and historian Herbert George Wells' (1866-1946) publications included 'The Time Machine' (1895) and 'The War of the Worlds' (1898). The Channel Tunnel was opened in 1994, 86 years after Wells? prediction of a transport link between Britain and France.

1908: An illustrated plate from the novel 'The War in the Air', by H G Wells, published in 1908, foresaw the importance of air forces in combat. This futuristic view shows a vehicle travelling on a monorail ... more

Photo: Science & Society Picture Librar, SSPL Via Getty Images

1908: An illustrated plate from the novel 'The War in the... Photo-5041515.68148 - GreenwichTime

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1905: Airships flying over an industrialized city. An imagined vision of the future, from a serial "War in the Air" by HG Wells. Author Herbert George Wells.

1905: Airships flying over an industrialized city. An imagined vision of the future, from a serial "War in the Air" by HG Wells. Author Herbert George Wells.

1910: The May 1910 issue of Aircraft magazine, published in New York, shows a futuristic flying machine painted by G.A. Coffin.

1910: The May 1910 issue of Aircraft magazine, published in New York, shows a futuristic flying machine painted by G.A. Coffin.

Photo: Transcendental Graphics, Getty Images

1910: The May 1910 issue of Aircraft magazine, published in New... Photo-5041517.68148 - GreenwichTime

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1950: Two hostesses stand in front of a new monorail service in Houston.

1950: Two hostesses stand in front of a new monorail service in Houston.

Photo: Evans, Getty Images

1950: Two hostesses stand in front of a new monorail service in... Photo-5041502.68148 - GreenwichTime

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1930s: A "rail plane" funded by George Bennie, was set up in the U.K. as an experiment and was dismantled in 1956.

1930s: A "rail plane" funded by George Bennie, was set up in the U.K. as an experiment and was dismantled in 1956.

Photo: Science & Society Picture Librar, SSPL Via Getty Images

1930s: A "rail plane" funded by George Bennie, was set... Photo-5041516.68148 - GreenwichTime

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1930: The first load of passengers queuing for the Bennie Railplane in Glasgow; the inventor George Bennie is third in the queue. The streamlined cars are self propelled, driven by air screws in front and behind, and hang from a steel girder.

1930: The first load of passengers queuing for the Bennie Railplane in Glasgow; the inventor George Bennie is third in the queue. The streamlined cars are self propelled, driven by air screws in front and ... more

Photo: J. A. Hampton, Getty Images

1930: The first load of passengers queuing for the Bennie... Photo-5041499.68148 - GreenwichTime

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1955: A Paris London by flying cab, illustrated in "Meccano Magazine."

1955: A Paris London by flying cab, illustrated in "Meccano Magazine."

Photo: Apic, Getty Images

1955: A Paris London by flying cab, illustrated in "Meccano... Photo-5041505.68148 - GreenwichTime

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1957: An architect's model of 'Skyport 2000', a futuristic proposal for an airport building to stand in St George's Circus, near Waterloo Station, London in the year 2000. Made for the Glass Age Development Committee and designed by architect James Dartford, the model shows how aircraft could land and take off from a giant platform supported by three glass-clad pillars. These would contain lifts carrying passengers down to a hotel, offices, and parking for private planes and cars.

1957: An architect's model of 'Skyport 2000', a futuristic proposal for an airport building to stand in St George's Circus, near Waterloo Station, London in the year 2000. Made for the Glass Age Development ... more